How to Write a Family History Story
Your story is one of the most precious things you have. Through family stories, we learn hard lessons, discover personal truths, relive the warmth of fun experiences, and carry on the legacy of those we love. However, writing a family history story can be daunting! After all, our family dates back for as long as humans have walked the earth. In this article, we’ll help walk you through where to begin, what to include, what media you should add to the story, who to share the story with, and more.
What resources do I need?
If you go to family history sites, you may become quickly—and needlessly—overwhelmed. Oftentimes, you can start by listing out living people who you can ask basic, targeted questions. By doing this, you can get the information you need quickly without sorting through piles of unnecessary info. Don’t let digging through family photos and video distract you yet. That can wait until you have the bare bones of your story laid out.
Where do I start?
Choosing which generation to stare you with can be the hardest part. You may feel guilt over where you’d like to begin gathering information or take on too much and feel completely overwhelmed. Our advice is to start small. Beginning with a single grandparent or parent can help ease you into the writing process and prepare you for adding future generations. When you start writing on their portion of your family history, start small with basic information, like:
Who were your parents? When were they born?
Who were your siblings? In what order were they born?
What was your birthday?
Where did you grow up? Did you move?
What was your daily life like?
Did your parents work? What did they do?
Who did you marry?
Who were your children and when did you have them?
Who are your grandchildren, and when were they born?
Outlining a basic family tree and including small bits of descriptive information gives you the basics and a point to start working from. These questions can be asked of each relevant person before moving onto the next step.
What should I ask next?
Once you’ve gathered the basic information and have it written out, you can decide how detailed you’d like your family story to be. To add color to your story, we recommend diving deeper than the basics. You want to know who these people were and not simply when/where they were born. Some questions to start with could be:
What was your biggest accomplishment?
Did you own a business or offer a service you were proud of?
Who were some of your most meaningful connections?
What were you most passionate about during your life?
What was your favorite memory as a child/parent/employee/spouse/grandparent?
You can use other resources available on our page to interview for in-depth stories and profiles on each person. However, once you have interviewed those you can, it may be time to hit the books.
Where can I find information on my family?
If you’d like to know more about family members in the past or those whose memory have failed them, it may be time to start digging. Plenty of basic information can be found through public records or online. Here are some great places to start your search:
Friends/family who may have gathered information
The local courthouse
The local library’s record of news stories
Family history sites. (Ancestry.com is one of our favorites)
If you’re still struggling to find the information you need, DNA testing like that offered through 23 and Me or Ancestry.com can give information on your family history, migration, and other connections you may not have known before.
How should I write the story?
Putting pen to blank page can be daunting! Remember that the act of historical preservation is a noble one! The fact that you’re trying makes it adequate. Here are some tips that can make writing a story of this scope simpler:
Start with a multi-tiered outline that takes into account the generation you are reviewing, the information you want to include, and additional materials to include such as photos or public records.
Write a single section at a time before moving on to the next.
Begin with the information you have. You can always fill in more later!
Don’t worry about writing beautifully or lyrically. The information is what’s important, and once you have it down, you can always edit it later!
Which photos should I include?
When you’re writing your story, you may want to include photos. This can be as basic or elaborate as you choose. We recommend having at least one photo of them where you can clearly see their face. You may also want to include the following photos of each person as:
baby
a toddler/child
a teen
at work
a spouse
a parent
with their family
a grandparent
an older adult
Again, these may be limited or plentiful depending on when they lived and what type of records you can find. There is no right or wrong way to include photos. Do what feels right and necessary to you!
Who should I have review the story?
You’ll want to go after your family history story once you’ve written it to check for typos and accuracy. Once you’ve reviewed it, you’ll want to check with those who you interviewed to make sure you portrayed them correctly. You’ll also need to review your notes and sources to be sure you copied dates and names down correctly. It is easy to accidentally switch a number or letter when sorting through so much information! Once you’ve gone through it, you may also want to ask a friend or proofreader to go over it to check for proper grammar if your story will be widely distributed.
Time to Start Writing…
As you’re writing, it’s easy to get ahead of yourself, but don’t put the cart before the horse! Don’t worry about publishing or sharing the story before it’s time. No one is more equipped to tell the story than you. Get to writing, and the rest is sure to fall into place!
Do you want to learn how to tell your family story, step-by-step? Enroll in our Story Savers course today for guided modules on interviewing, writing, and sharing those stories that matter most to you!